LOS ANGELES, CALIF. — The 2017 MLS SuperDraft starts Friday at 1 p.m. (MT) at the Los Angeles Convention Center and recent Lobo graduates Niko Hansen and Chris Wehan are among the best prospects in the nation to be drafted to MLS teams. Three other Lobos are also eligible for the SuperDraft including Josh Goss, Nick Rochowski and Chris Gurule. Fans can watch the draft LIVE on MLSSoccer.com.
According to the final mock draft on MLSSoccer.com, Hansen is projected to go as high as 11th.
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Friday will kick off the first two rounds of the 2017 MLS SuperDraft starting at 12 p.m. PT/1 p.m. MT at the Los Angeles Convention Center while rounds 3 and 4 will take place via conference call on Tuesday, Jan. 17 at a time to be determined.
Hansen and Wehan are coming off of the 2017 adidas MLS Player Combine in which they each competed in three matches. Both got significant playing time and contributed to their teams throughout the three days of competition.
Hansen started two of the three games and registered one assist and one goal – a game-tying goal – in his combine showing on Team Tango, but left the third game due to possible injury. Regardless, Hansen is still being projected to go in the first round, as high as 11th by MLSSoccer.com.
Wehan also started two of his three games as a member of Team Chaos and was tried out at a couple of positions for MLS teams to get a good look at what he can do. Perhaps his best performance was in his second game, but Wehan was his usual consistent self throughout the combine.
Goss, Rochowski and Gurule were not at the combine as only 53 players are initially invited, but the trio is eligible to be drafted over the four rounds.
Getting drafted to an MLS team is a huge first step toward making an MLS roster, but is not a guarantee. Most picks in the MLS SuperDraft will enter training camp with the clubs that drafted them but only about half of them will make an MLS roster. A player who was drafted by a particular team throughout the SuperDraft and did not sign is placed on that team’s “College Protected List” until Dec. 31 of the year after the draft, after which the team loses the MLS rights to the player.